Scottish pole vault star Stephanie McKenzie has set her sights on the Scottish national record as the perfect stepping stone towards taking centre stage at Glasgow 2014.

The 18-year-old from Falkirk is in the middle of a hard winter’s training, honing her talents before the outdoor season begins in earnest.

And having come second at the Scottish Senior Championships in August and sixth at the UK under-20 championships, the University of Edinburgh student is determined to be a hit when the Commonwealth Games come to Scotland.

“I’m really working hard in training at the moment because this is going to be a huge season for me,” said the biology student.

“I’m going to be moving out of the under-20 age group fairly soon and I really want to get that magical 3.80 metres before I do that.

“That would give me the Scottish record and I think that would represent fantastic progress on the way towards the seniors.

“Juggling my studies and my athletics can get tough but you have to put in the work to reap the rewards.

“London 2012 would be a fantastic thing for me to do but Glasgow 2014 is more realistic – and to do that in my home country would be unbelievable.”